RFK Jr. plans to investigate SSRI and antidepressant use, particularly among children and teens, as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Hours after Kennedy was sworn in, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to direct Kennedy and his team to “prioritize gold-standard research on the root causes of why Americans are getting sick.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch swears in Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as Health and Human Services Secretary as his wife Cheryl Hines holds the Bible in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)

One of those things was the claim that some people have a harder time coming off antidepressants than they do coming off heroin. He was referring specifically to the current generation of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

SSRIs are a focus of a new Trump executive order that installs Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' commission. Here's what they do.